Virtually every vehicle, from high-traffic commercial vehicles to the most expensive exotic cars, is equipped with some type of a floor mat on the foot area in front of each of the seats with in the vehicle. The floor mats, which are generally easily and quickly removable for cleaning, serve to protect the vehicle's permanent flooring material from normal wear and tear.
In most cases, the floor mats of a vehicle are made of a material that matches the permanent or semi-permanent flooring material installed within the vehicle during manufacturing thereof. Not only do these mats typically match the interior of the vehicle, they are usually made of the same material. For instance, if the floorboards of the vehicle are covered in carpet, the floor mats are usually made of the very same carpet material. Because most interior floor areas are covered in carpet, most floor mats are also manufactured from a carpet-type material. Alternatively, the floor-mat material can be, for instance, a lower-cost plastic, or other materials.
Carpet-type material suffers from the disadvantage of being easily stained. Because the carpet-type material is of a fiber, the material easily absorbs dirt and other staining substances that come in contact with the fibers. Although stain-resistant chemicals have been developed that help protect the carpet-type material, eventual staining is inevitable. Plastic floor mats have the advantage of being easily cleaned. However, plastic floor mats simply do not offer a visual appearance that is acceptable for use with higher-priced cars or in other applications where an owner or user is conscientious about appearance.
One known floor mat that attempts to avoid the disadvantages of both fiber-type floor mats and plastic-type floor mats is a wooden board described in U.S. Design Pat. No. D424,497. Although the wooden boards provide improved visual aesthetics, the wooden floor mats in U.S. Design Pat. No. D424,497 are described and shown as being entirely planar. This can, of course, be attributed to the fact that wood is generally inflexible. This floor mat is disadvantageous as very few vehicles have an entirely planar, i.e., flat, foot area. For this reason, a flat wooden floor mat is unacceptable for use in most vehicles.
In addition, during the life of a car, the floor mats must be removed each time the car is cleaned, which is usually quite frequently, e.g., once a week. Even if the wooden floor mats were to be provided in a particular shape that would conform to the shape the foot area within a vehicle, these wooden floor mats would be susceptible to damage once they are removed from the car. For example, if a curved wooden floor mat were placed on the ground during a cleaning process, any pressure placed on top of that floor mat would have a high likelihood of causing the floor mat to crack and/or break. Furthermore, shaped wooden floor mats, which, notably, are not described in the known prior-art, would be prohibitively expensive.
In addition, a flat wooden board resting on the vehicle's permanent flooring material, e.g., carpet, is prone to undesired and unexpected sliding along the surface. This can be dangerous in most driving situations. Also, wood is known to be highly susceptible to water damage, which renders them a poor choice for use in automobile floors, where moisture is frequently present. Furthermore, the upper surface of the wooden floor mat is prone to being slippery, creating a dangerous situation. For example, the driver's foot can accidentally slide along the surface of the mat and into the gas pedal.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.